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Beverly Crusher
Caption: Dr. Crusher in 2368. Full Name: Beverly Cheryl Howard Crusher Gender: Female Species: Human Born: October 13, 2324 Place of Birth: Copernicus City, Luna Marital status: Widowed (Husband, Jack Crusher, deceased in 2354) Children: One son, Wesley Crusher Mother: Isabel Howard Father: Paul Howard Actress: Gates McFadden Caption: Dr. Crusher in 2375. Commander Beverly Crusher (née Howard) was the Chief Medical Officer aboard the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS Enterprise-D]] and its successor, the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)|USS Enterprise-E]], both under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. She left for one year, in 2365, to become head of Starfleet Medical, and Dr. Katherine Pulaski took her place aboard the Enterprise. Early Life Dr. Crusher was born as Beverly Howard in Copernicus City on Earth's moon in 2324. (TNG: "Conundrum") Her ancestry is from North America (TNG: "The High Ground"), although her distant ancestors hail from Scotland. While Beverly was still a young child, both of her parents were killed. She was raised by her grandmother, Felisa Howard, whom Beverly referred to as "Nana." (TNG: "Sub Rosa") Both Howards were present during the terrible disaster at the Arvada III colony, and it was during this time Felisa learned how to use herbs and roots for medicinal purposes after regular medical supplies had been exhausted. This inspired Beverly to a career in medicine. (TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom") Beverly and Felisa later moved to the Caldos Colony, where Felisa became a healer until her death in 2370 at age 100. (TNG: "Sub Rosa") : It was never established how Beverly's parents died or when, only that she had very few memories of them. It is entirely possible they were killed on Arvada III, but "The Arsenal of Freedom" seems to imply Beverly was much older during that incident, which was also never fully explained. Beverly's childhood was mostly happy, although she did experience the same difficulties in making friends and relating to other children that most youngsters experience. (TNG: "The Offspring") As a thirteen-year old, rebellious Beverly dyed her hair and became a brunette, although she recalled years later that she "couldn't change it back fast enough." (TNG: "The Quality of Life") In her later teens, Beverly admitted she developed a smart-aleck mouth, which often got her into trouble. She brought a date with a young man named Tom Norris to an abrupt end with the question: "Is that a beard or is your face dirty?" Beverly later realized that she had really hurt him, and from that point on she was more concious of others' feelings. (TNG: "Attached") Academy and Early Starfleet Career Beverly was admitted to the Starfleet Medical School in 2342. During this time, she became romantically involved with Jack Crusher after being introduced by their mutual friend, Walker Keel (TNG: "Conspiracy") The two were married in 2348 after Jack proposed to her through a gag gift, a book entitled How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage. (TNG: "Family") Jack served aboard the [[USS Stargazer|USS Stargazer]] under Picard, and the couple became good friends with the captain. Picard later admitted he had fallen in love with Beverly, but did not act on his feelings because he felt doing so would betray his friend. : Beverly may have served aboard the ''Stargazer at some point, explaining the large amounts of time she spent with Picard while he was captain of the Stargazer.'' The Crushers welcomed a son, Wesley Crusher, in 2349. Beverly graduated from Starfleet Medical School the following year, and interned with Dr. Dalen Quaice on Delos IV in 2352. (TNG: "Remember Me") As a lieutenant commander, Jack died on an away mission while onboard the Stargazer in 2354. Picard brought Jack's body home to the grieving Beverly and Wesley. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "Violations") Beverly never fully recovered from his death. (TNG: "The Bonding", "True-Q") Crusher took the Starfleet bridge officer examination in 2362, and was promoted to commander. (TNG: "Thine Own Self") Aboard the USS Enterprise The Enterprise-D Dr. Crusher was appointed chief medical officer of the Starship Enterprise-D in 2364, and joined the ship at Farpoint Station with Wesley. Picard initially had reservations about her presence, but she assured him that the past would have no effect on her duties and she had no problem serving under his command. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint") Crusher was appointed as head of Starfleet Medical in 2365, and left the Enterprise during that year, although Wesley remained onboard. (TNG: "The Child") She found it difficult to be away, however, and decided to return to the ship the following year. (TNG: "Evolution") : The reason for Beverly's return was never explicitly stated. Dr. Quaice retired in 2367 shortly after the death of his wife, and the Enterprise-D picked him up at Starbase 133 to ferry him home. Although he was in good spirits, he was slightly saddened at the prospect of facing the future without many of his friends, a feeling Beverly knew all too well. At the same time, Wesley Crusher was experimenting with a novel warp bubble. Beverly became trapped in this bubble, and her thoughts at the time created a universe where everyone and everything quickly began disappearing. With the assistance of the Traveler, Wesley was able to create a gateway back to the normal universe. Dr. Crusher was able to deduce what was happening in her universe, and escaped just before the bubble collapsed. (TNG: "Remember Me") Wesley left to attend Starfleet Academy in 2367, separating the Crushers yet again. (TNG: "Final Mission") He resigned from the Academy in 2370 to join the Traveler in an exploration of alternate planes of reality (TNG: "Journey's End"), but returned to finish his studies well before 2379, joining his mother at the wedding of Will Riker and Deanna Troi. (Star Trek: Nemesis) When the Enterprise entered a temporal causality loop while exploring the Typhon Expanse, Beverly's feelings of deja vu and evidence of temporal phenomena lead to a solution which allowed the ship to break the cycle. (TNG: "Cause and Effect") In 2369, Admiral Alynna Nechayev assigned Crusher, along with Captain Picard and Lieutenant Worf, to a covert mission to seek out and destroy a Cardassian metagenic weapon on Celtris III. Reports of the weapon later turned out to be a ruse intended to capture Picard, although Worf and Crusher escaped. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part I," "Chain of Command, Part II") Discoveries and Research Crusher had to deal with various epidemics aboard the Enterprise, including the aforementioned Psi 2000 virus in 2364. Another disease ravaged the ship later that year, when students returning from a field trip on Quazulu VIII brought along a deadly respiratory virus. Fortunately, Beverly's skills led her to an antidote, averting disaster. (TNG: "Angel One") Beverly helped reconstruct Lore after the Enterprise found him abandoned on Omicron Theta, becoming very familiar with Data's workings in the process. (TNG: "Datalore," "The Game") Crusher was the first to observe the parasites which attempted to take control of the Federation in 2364, and determined a way to remove them from the host. (TNG: "Conspiracy") A Romulan scout was found crashed on Galorndon Core in 2366, and Crusher was in charge of treating the Romulan survivor. Although she improvised as much as she could, there was not much medical knowledge available on Romulans and the survivor later died. (TNG: "The Enemy") Crusher was vital in determining a way to use Locutus of Borg, Picard's assimilated alter ego, as a way to prevent the Borg invasion of 2367. After the crisis, Crusher pioneered the surgical techniques used for removing implants from Picard. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II") In 2367, Beverly assisted in the delivery of a large spacebourne lifeform whose mother was accidentally killed by the Enterprise. (TNG: "Galaxy's Child") Later that year, Dr. Crusher developed a method of treating victims of the Tarchannen III aliens; unfortunately, the treatment was only effective on individuals who had only recently begun metamorphosis. (TNG: "Identity Crisis") That same year, Dr. Crusher was the first non-Trill to study their anatomy and transplant a symbiont into a new host. (TNG: "The Host") After Worf was paralyzed due to an accident in 2368, Beverly invited the noted neuroscientist Dr. Toby Russell to the Enterprise to confer on treatment options. Crusher wanted to use traditional treatment options, but Russell pushed for a radical new surgical technique using a genitronic replicator. Dr. Crusher turned down the plan, feeling it to be too risky, and later relieved Russell from duty after she used one of her experimental drugs to treat a disaster victim when a traditional medication would have saved his life. Realizing Worf would rather die than live as a paraplegic, Crusher reluctantly granted permission for the surgery. It was ultimately successful thanks to the redundancies of Klingon anatomy, although Crusher still did not approve of Russell's methods. (TNG: "Ethics") In 2369, Beverly was a major participant in the race to decipher the final research of Dr. Richard Galen. Her contributions, along with those of the Enterprise-D crew and various other interests, led to the discovery of a message from the Progenitors, the oldest sentient humanoid species. (TNG: "The Chase") Crusher unwittingly caused the first case of Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome in 2370, causing the entire Enterprise crew to "de-evolve" to earlier evolutionary stages. (TNG: "Genesis") In command As a fully certified bridge officer, Crusher has commanded the Enterprise-D on several occasions, most notably in 2370 while nearly the entire crew was searching for Data on a renegade Borg planet. The ship was attacked by a Borg vessel, but her quick thinking allowed the Enterprise to escape and destroy the Borg ship. (TNG: "Descent, Part I," "Descent, Part II") She also occasionally commanded night watch shifts in order to stay on top of starship operations. (TNG: "Thine Own Self") Conflicts with the Prime Directive Dr. Crusher's empathy for her patients and her concern for their care above everything else occasionally causes problems, as when she rescued a Mintakan during an emergency mission to a cultural observation outpost on the Bronze-age world. The Mintakan, Liko, awoke in the Enterprise sickbay and saw Captain Picard, believing him to be a god. After he was returned to his people, his story caused confusion and paranoia until Picard was able to prove that he, too, was mortal. (TNG: "Who Watches the Watchers?") Also in 2366, Beverly was taken captive on the wartorn planet of Rutia IV after tending to citizens wounded during a terrorist attack. Their leader, Finn, wanted to have her cure the internal damage caused as a result of the terrorists' use of a folded-space transport device, but Crusher was eventually rescued. In 2368, the Enterprise discovered a crashed Borg vessel. There was a single survivor, Third of Five, later known as Hugh. Although Lieutenant Worf and several Enterprise crewmembers wanted to kill the drone, it was due to Crusher's insistence that he was brought aboard and nursed back to health. Beverly strongly disagreed with the plan to send Hugh back with a computer virus designed to infect the Borg Collective, yet helped Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge work with Hugh to construct such a weapon. Eventually, Captain Picard decided against using the virus, but the Enterprise crew did not realize at the time that the personality Hugh developed working with Crusher and the rest of the crew would be nearly as damaging. (TNG: "I, Borg," "Descent, Part II") Beverly attended the Altine Conference in 2369, and learned of the research of a Ferengi scientist named Reyga. He believed he had found the secret to metaphasic shielding, but many other scientists were skeptical of his claims. Crusher organized a small conference aboard the Enterprise and invited several leading scientists in the field of subspace morphology to view a test of the technology on the Shuttlecraft Justman. Unfortunately, the test was sabotaged by a Takaran scientist named Jo'Bril, who staged his own death and then murdered Reyga by making it appear he had committed suicide in order to discredit the Ferengi. Jo'Bril had planned to steal the design for his own malicious use. Beverly felt responsible for the two deaths, and was determined to find the cause of the accidents. Although Crusher broke a number of rules, including performing an autopsy on Reyga against the tenets of the Ferengi Death Ritual, and was relieved of duty, she eventually discovered Jo'Bril's plan and prevented him from stealing the data. Crusher was exonerated and returned to duty shortly following the incident. (TNG: "Suspicions") Injuries In 2364, Dr. Crusher was injured during an away mission to planet Minos. She and Captain Picard were being chased by one of the automated weapon drones on the planet, and the pair fell into an abandoned bunker. Crusher had lost her medical kit and was going into shock, but she kept awake long enough to instruct Picard on how to use the native plants to treat her wounds. She was rescued after Picard and Data figured out how to disable the weapons. (TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom") A Ullian named Jev visited the Enterprise in 2368, and mentally attacked several crewmembers, including Crusher, causing them to fall into a coma for a brief period of time. (TNG: "Violations") The Q entity turned Beverly into a dog in 2369, but Amanda Rogers, another Q, returned her to human form. (TNG: "True-Q") Crusher was severely injured in 2370 by Lieutenant Worf, affected by Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome. She was placed into stasis after being nearly paralyzed by venom, and required reconstructive surgery. (TNG: "Genesis") : Placing Crusher in stasis during "Genesis" was a way of allowing actress Gates McFadden more time behind the camera as director of the episode. The Enterprise-E The Enterprise-D was destroyed in 2371 following a crash landing of the saucer section on planet Veridian III. Although there were no fatalities, there were many wounded, which kept Crusher quite busy. (Star Trek: Generations) She transferred to the newly-commissioned Enterprise-E the following year. Her command abilities were put to good use during the ship's near assimilation by the Borg during its trip to the year 2063, where she served as temporary executive officer during the crisis. Dr. Crusher also stayed calm when the Borg invaded sickbay. Even though she was not fond of the Emergency Medical Hologram, she successfully used it as a decoy to keep the Borg distracted while the sickbay staff and patients made it to relative safety. (Star Trek: First Contact) In 2375, Beverly was part of the diplomatic contingent welcoming the Evora as a protectorate into the Federation. She also aided Captain Picard in his struggle to keep the Ba'ku from being relocated by the Son'a, and was the first to realize that both species were of the same ancestry. (Star Trek: Insurrection) : The script for Star Trek: Nemesis, along with the novelization, implies Crusher became head of Starfleet Medical once again at the end of the film. All reference to this happening was eliminated from the final version of the film and did not even make it to the DVD version, so its validity is vague at best. Personal Interests Theater Beverly is an accomplished thespian and playwright. She formed a theater troupe aboard the Enterprise (TNG: "The Nth Degree") and produced several classic and original plays, sometimes to the dismay of the crewmembers she sought to fill the roles. (TNG: "Disaster," "A Fistful of Datas," "Frame of Mind") She wrote the plays Something for Breakfast (TNG: "A Fistful of Datas") and Frame of Mind. (TNG: "Frame of Mind") Dancing Although she is not shy about her theatrical abilities, Beverly was somewhat ashamed of her past as a dancer, not wanting to be known by her nickname, "The Dancing Doctor." She studied tap and jazz dance, winning several awards in St. Louis. (TNG: "Data's Day," "Ensign Ro," "The Game") Other Hobbies Beverly has varied interests in cybernetics (TNG: "11001001," "Ethics") and ethnobotany (TNG: "Clues," "Cause and Effect"), writing papers on the subjects (TNG: "Ethics"). She studied the Klingon mok'bara and other martial arts with Lieutenant Worf. (TNG: "The Quality of Life," "Sub Rosa," "Masks") Crusher was also a regular participant in the Enterprise-D poker games (TNG: "Cause and Effect," "The Outcast," "The Quality of Life," "Lower Decks," "All Good Things...") and enjoyed holodeck simulations of Alture VII (TNG: "Birthright, Part I") and the Orient Express. (TNG: "Emergence") Personal Relationships Friendships Crusher was quite close to several members of the Enterprise crew. She was good friends with with Deanna Troi, and the two would often work out or take mok'bara classes together, as well as talk. (TNG: "The Price," "Family," "Second Chances," "Sub Rosa," "Masks") She was also interested in the well-being of her staff, and was especially close to Nurse Alyssa Ogawa. She often advised Ogawa on her romantic affairs, including that with her future husband, Andrew Powell. (TNG: "Imaginary Friend," "Lower Decks," "Genesis") Beverly and Data also had a special relationship, with Data seeking advice from Beverly on subjects ranging from parenting (TNG: "The Offspring") to dancing. She taught Data to tapdance, not knowing that he had intended to learn how to dance for the wedding of Miles O'Brien and Keiko Ishikawa. (TNG: "Data's Day") Data also came to her for advice on whether or not to consider the exocomps alive, and she was present when Data learned they were indeed sentient. (TNG: "The Quality of Life") Romance Aside from her marriage to Jack Crusher, Beverly has been involved in a number of romances. She recalled her first crush, as an eight-year old on a eleven-year old soccer player named Stephan, led to fantasies about having children, a career, and a happy life. (TNG: "The Host") While on the Enterprise-D, Crusher was involved with a Zalkonian named John Doe, rescued in 2366. (TNG: "Transfigurations") She fell very much in love with the Trill ambassador Odan in 2367, but she later felt that their relationship could not work because of the uncertainty involved. (TNG: "The Host") After returning to Caldos in 2370 for her grandmother's funeral, Beverly learned that Felisa had a thirty-four year old lover named Ronin. Ronin was actually an anaphasic lifeform who had been living with Howard women since taking up residence with Jessel Howard the 1600s. Her biochemistry allowed him to maintain molecular cohesion, and he formed a symbiotic relationship with all her descendants. Ronin had a strong hypnotic influence and Beverly was bewitched, resigning her post on the Enterprise to move to Caldos. She eventually came to her senses after Ronin killed a resident of Caldos and seriously injured Captain Picard, Commander Data, and Commander LaForge. She was forced to destroy Ronin after he tried to directly merge with her. (TNG: "Sub Rosa") Jean-Luc Picard Beverly and Jean-Luc maintained a close friendship while serving on the Enterprise-D, usually sharing their morning meal and talking when one or the other needed advice. (TNG: "The Perfect Mate," "Lessons," "The Chase," "Attached") Their relationship stayed platonic for the most part, despite close calls under the influence of the Psi 2000 virus (TNG: "The Naked Now") and a duplicate of Picard which replaced the captain in order to learn about human relationships. (TNG: "Allegiance") However, it was clear both desired something more, even if it was subconcious. (TNG: "The Big Goodbye," "The Arsenal of Freedom," "The High Ground," "Remember Me," "The Host," "Lessons") In 2370, Picard and Crusher were taken captive on planet Kesprytt, and were linked together by psi-wave devices in order to decrease the odds of their escape. The devices transmitted their thoughts to one another, and it was at this time both confirmed the other's affections. Beverly ultimately decided that she did not want to ruin their friendship or be placed in a conflict of interest, and their relationship didn't go any further at that time. (TNG: "Attached") Later however, as Picard talked with her regarding the alternate timeline he had seen by Q's tricks, in which they were married, he expressed his feelings for her, and the relationship grew closer. (TNG: "All Good Things...") Alternate Timelines An alternate version of Beverly Crusher was chief medical officer on the Enterprise-D created after the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C)|USS Enterprise-C]] briefly entered the year 2366 through a temporal rift. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise") Beverly was also chief medical officer on several Enterprises in alternate universes visited by Lieutenant Worf in 2370, following his encounter with a quantum fissure. (TNG: "Parallels") In Q's anti-time future, observed by Jean-Luc Picard, Beverly had been promoted to captain and was commanding the medical ship [[USS Pasteur|USS Pasteur]]. She had also married Picard and divorced him quite some years prior. (TNG: "All Good Things...") Miscellaneous Information Crusher's quarters on the Enterprise-D were on Deck 8, Room 2133. (TNG: "Sub Rosa"). Her office was on Deck 12, Room 1629, adjacent to sickbay. (TNG: "Genesis") Crusher's command authorization code in 2373 was "Crusher-2-2-Beta-Charlie". (Star Trek: First Contact) :Beverly's middle name, Cheryl, is a homage to Gates McFadden's real first name. Chronology *2324: Born in Copernicus City, Luna. *2342: Admitted to Starfleet Academy's medical program. *2348: Marries Jack Crusher. *2349: Wesley Crusher born. *2350: Graduates medical school. *2352: Interns on Delos IV under Dr. Dalen Quaice. *2354: Jack Crusher dies under command of Jean-Luc Picard while serving on the USS Stargazer. *2362: Promoted to commander after passing the bridge officer examination. *2364: Assigned to [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS Enterprise-D]], Wesley comes aboard ship as well. *2365: Accepts position as head of Starfleet Medical. *2366: Returns to Enterprise-D. *2367: Temporarily trapped in a warp bubble. *2369: Part of a covert mission to infiltrate the Cardassian Celtris III outpost. *2370: Commands the Enterprise-D during a rogue Borg assault. *2370: Temporarily resigns commission while under the influence of Ronin. *2371: ''Enterprise''-D at destroyed over Veridian III. *2372: Assigned to the ''USS Enterprise''-E. *2373: Travels back in time to 2063 in order to defeat an attempt by the Borg to create an alternate timeline in which the Federation is never created. *2375: Assists in Picard's rebellion against Starfleet Admiral Dougherty in order to protect the Ba'ku.